Sunday, May 20, 2012

“He is one of the big boys”

“Banking on the
revived interest of investors, Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel
M. Lopez is embarking on a new and lofty mission – to make great
strides in attracting foreign capital that can help lift the
country’s economic stature,” reports Manila Bulletin, 30th
Apr 2012. “It is some sort of a ‘role-shift’ for him –
considering that he is one of the ‘big boys’ in the Philippine
business scene, and has always been a private sector player at that.”

“Mr. Lopez noted
that ultimately, the goal would be to move the Philippines out of
obscurity and into the fast lane . . . [He] emphasizes though that
the prudent step is “to focus on our core competence” – which
he believes are in the areas of electronics, SMEs and tourism . . .
[The] country can still gain competitive advantage against other
Asean countries – or at least, it can be on a head-to-head race
with Vietnam and Indonesia . . . “[C]ompanies which have
subsidiaries in the Philippines still find value in investing or
expanding,” hinging more on the incentives being offered at the
PEZA zones as well as the country’s highly-educated labor market.
But the Japanese investors still complain of hurdles in the country’s
“changing tax system” as well as the state of infrastructures
which are relatively inferior to others. The market size (or the lack
of purchasing power because of smaller middle class base) may also
serve as deterring factor, especially for companies which are gearing
up for bigger sales. Such that when car parts manufacturing firms had
to relocate because of the Thai floods, they have chosen Indonesia
over the Philippines because of the former’s “richer” middle
class.”

Clearly no one will offer
anything to us on a silver platter. The challenge to us Filipinos,
indeed, is to stray out of comfort zone? For instance, given our
parochial instincts, we’re still conflicted about the
interconnectedness of the global economy – where global leadership
is the norm? Writes Angel Cabrera, president of Thunderbird
School of Global Management (Business Mirror, 29th Apr 2012): “My
colleagues have conducted surveys of thousands of managers around the
world and interviewed dozens of successful leaders. These efforts
have helped us identify three critical skill sets for effective
global leadership: global mindset, global entrepreneurship and global
citizenship.”

But
isn’t our culture supposed to be superior? There are “.
. . cultural traits that are necessary for greater economic success,”
John Mangun, Business Mirror, 30th Apr
2012, summarizing “The Role of Culture
in Economic Development,” a paper
published in 2009 by Jesuit priest Francis X. Hezel. On trust and
morality, for example: It goes beyond
family . . . “you cannot build a sound economy by just treating
your family properly and cheating everyone else . . . Less successful
economies tend to keep individual initiative and creativity as a low
priority. “Follow the boss’s ideas; he knows best” . . .
Persistent and consistent work product day after day and week after
week is critical.”

We
need to truly examine the value of trust and morality and how limited
we define them – ‘charity begins at home but doesn’t end
there’; recognize the issue of hierarchy and how it undermines
innovation; and the imperatives of productivity. Is it about time we
toss some of our assumptions – that have formed our comfort zone
and our parochial view? We are not the world – but we can be part
of it?

It is
encouraging that a Lopez – coming from an old Philippine oligarchic
family – is revamping a supposedly enduring assumption that has
left us with pathetic levels of foreign investment. And given his own
industry and business experience, he is preaching “focus,” for
instance. And he has spelled out a few more pragmatic imperatives if
only to stress that we can’t live in our own made-up-world? For
example, investors are “prowling” the world, investing even in
countries with less business and management sophistication than us,
because of one factor: per capita GDP. Thus, as Ambassador Lopez
says: “when [Japanese] . . .manufacturing firms had to relocate because of the Thai
floods, they have chosen Indonesia over the Philippines because of
the former’s “richer” middle class.”

Genesis of this Blog

Now a book

Advocacy

About Me

I started writing to columnists and newspaper editors at the end of a trip to the Philippines over Holy Week in 2008 – to echo the frustrations expressed by friends and relations that were much louder and more intense than prior trips. My first thought was: with so much talents and skills how could the country be the basket case of Asia? Are we simply too nice as a people? Since then I have kept abreast with local news and opinions.
I have been a business consultant (since 2003) focused on Eastern Europe. My principal client in Bulgaria, a consumer-products maker, was chosen by the European Business Awards in 2011 as among Europe’s best from the 15,000 companies vetted for the selection. I started my career in 1968 in human resources in the Philippines. I then joined a Fortune 500 company in 1981, working with its Manila subsidiary for seven years and later moved up to its Asian regional headquarters and finally assumed a global responsibility (in global strategy, organization and business competitiveness) until my retirement. I have likewise done consulting work in the Philippines. I live with my family in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.